A ruling by a Federal Court full bench this morning appears to have opened the way for unions to begin bargaining for Fair Work agreements for thousands of iron ore mineworkers employed by Rio Tinto in Western Australia, and might have similar implications for BHP Billiton's iron ore operations.
Fair Work Australia doesn't have the power to order unions not to organise unprotected industrial action unless they are actually doing so, a full bench of the tribunal has ruled.
An airline that is majority-owned by the Fijian Government has won orders against industrial action threatened by the TWU over what it claims is the "smashing" of workplace rights in the country.
The move by the Victorian branch of the ETU against the national and NSW branches has spilled into court, with Victorian secretary Dean Mighell alleging NSW secretary Bernie Riordan and two other state officials breached union rules by keeping fees they were paid for serving on industry boards.
Opposition's no-change IR policy was inadequate, says Reith; Commissioner disqualifies himself; and Xstrata delegates call on company to focus on carbon solutions.
For the first time since the introduction of protected action ballots under Work Choices five years ago, an individual employee has won the right to take lawful industrial action.
The Federal Government will introduce civil penalties and fines on top of the current criminal penalties for employers that hire illegal workers, under a crackdown announced today by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen.
A push within the CEPU's communications division to oust or diminish the influence of key Victorian officials has failed, with the union's national secretary among those losing their jobs in the process.
